The invention relates to new and useful improvements in medical X-ray systems having a radiation source and a radiation receiver. More particularly, the invention relates to such a medical X-ray system in which the radiation source and receiver are arranged on a common support.
In such known X-ray systems, the radiation source, i.e. the X-ray tube, and the radiation receiver (for example a cassette grid drawer or a digital image receiver) are arranged on a common C-shaped or U-shaped support. The distance between them is therefore fixed. The range of examinations which can be carried out with the system is therefore limited to those for which this distance is adequate. Some examinations require a larger film-to-focus distance (for example about 180 cm in the case of chest X-rays). If the system is also to be used for these examinations, the system is normally provided with a second radiation receiver. The second receiver may be mounted on the wall, for example on a wall bucky. Providing the X-ray machine with two radiation receivers, one on the support and one on the wall bucky, naturally makes the machine more expensive. The additional costs are particularly high if the machine uses a digital radiation receiver in the form of an image detector, which is substantially more expensive than a cassette grid drawer.